April to May 2022 Issue
The Council for World Mission
The Partners in Mission Unit
CONNECTED
In this Issue
Page 3 Theme Reflection - "Rising to Life: Caribbean Thoughts" By Rev. Dr. Michael Jagessar Page 8 Stay Connected through Prayers Praying for Lembe and Cynthia A Prayerful Meditation A Prayer for those who Serve Page 13 Welcoming our Newest Partners Mr. Innocent Kangwa Rev. Mark Meatcher and Rev. Melanie Smith Rev. Thomas Phiri Rev. Patrick Banda Page 19 News from the PIM Unit
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Stay CONNECTED with CWM Theme Reflection Page 3
Rising to Life…Caribbean thoughts
- Rev. Dr. Michael Jagessar -
Beyond the tourist myth of the Caribbean as ‘paradise’, is a constant struggle of ‘rising to life’ – to overcome or to ‘overstand’ the forces bent on denying fullness of life. This is not only about history. It is about the ongoing legacies currently seen in social, economic and political ills. One of the most indebted regions, the Caribbean’s vulnerability is not by accident. It has been and is intentional: one borne both from centuries of extractive colonialism and international debt obligations that drain regional resources to fund the rich of other nations and within the Caribbean. The Caribbean is ‘paradise lost’ with the region struggling to emerge from the Covid-19 hurricane that battered Caribbean lives, economies, structures and spirit. What has never been lost, however, is the Caribbean ability to survive, overstand, overcome and (a)rise up always finding some space(s) to breathe before the next set of battering.
Yet in the face of such unrelentless onslaught against full and flourishing life for all in the Caribbean, it will boggle the mind to see and hear the stories of courage, compassion, openness, resilience, solidarity, hope and transformation. No wonder Philip Potter aptly described us as the “in spite of people and region”. Caribbean peoples and churches know fully well what it means to rise up for their humanity – to arise from being labelled nobodies to affirm in style and tempo their humanity and distinctive some-body-ness. Faith and faithfulness, from the treasures of ancestral religions and the colonising mission of Christianity has been at the heart of such. We are here and will continue to be here however others wish to misrepresent, brush-off, and discard the region and its people. Page 4
Be it the Caribbean’s gift of intellectuals that shaped Black Radicalism, Pan-Africanism, Non-Aligned Movement, Critical Cultural Studies, and post/decolonial overtures, or the many giftings from the region offered to sports, music, keeping churches alive in the Europe and North America, global, missional and ecumenical institutions, the Caribbean has been and continue to rise to the occasion. Our ancestors have been the ‘rising up-people’ and their progeny continue to embody that spirit. So, from their lived experiences, ancestral stories, scriptures, faith and the scars they still carry what can we all learn from this ‘corner of the world’ about rising to life? Here are a few interrelated thoughts: Let’s begin with power. Power (more visible that we wish to admit) remains the cultural idol holding all hostage. It is the case inside church, mission and ecumenical organisations, as it is outside. We want to own it, to store it up, to expand it, to manipulate it for our purposes. Power has power over us. It is omnipresent. It lures and deceives us. The toughest challenge to rising to life is learning to let go, to give up spaces we have occupied which continue to deny others full and flourishing life. This may be why reparations become such a challenge. We are unable to repair because we cannot acknowledge, let go and give away. We wish to keep and if grudgingly to share it, it has to be among ourselves for in our interest. Hence, not surprisingly some are concerned about the “elite capture” of our good intentions of wishing to redress deficits. Caribbean people know this well. They also know that there another ways to counter this. This is the Jesus way which is an invitation to join-in the work of our giveaway God, with a new mathematics of redressing deficits where to gain is to lose and first will be last. This, though, is too upsetting and disruptive. We can ‘talk the talk’ of ‘rising to life’ exceptionally well, but when challenged to ‘walk the talk’ in reality the politics of power kicks in. Jesus is pushed into a corner, weeps and re-crucified.
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Caribbean ‘walkers of the Jesus way’ love their bibles and when they read it they do so with ‘realism’. So, they know from experience and the evidence around them that any ‘rising to life’ cannot, for them, underestimate the power of evil and its hold on us. Years ago, I read Jonathan Kozol’s, Amazing Grace (2012). Kozol recounts a conversation with David a bright and promising young man living in the ghetto in NY South Bronx who cooked and cared for his mother who had AIDS.
“Evil exists,” David says, not flinching at the word. “I believe that what the rich have done to the poor people in this city is something that a preacher could call evil. Somebody has power. Pretending that they don’t so they don’t need to use it to help people – that is my idea of evil.” And “people who let other people be destroyed do evil. People who know but do not act do evil too”.
What holds us captive is created and in place by a dehumanizing evil power which has to be exorcised and cast into the depths. Churches are not immune to this capture. Perhaps, this may be what Augustine and Luther had in mind when they referred to sin as incurvatus in se - being turned in or wrapped up in oneself so one cannot see the other or one’s neighbour. So, the rising necessary (the corrective) will mean to bend that curvature back to a position (to rise and stand upright) where one can meet another’s eyes and look into the humanness of our neighbour. Will we together and in partnership riseup and upright so that all can flourish?
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Rising to life must mean believing in a future and living in the present in ways which will not colonise such future. The afterlives of Caribbean people, following the brutality of enslavement, demonstrates the behaviour of an extractive colonial system and its elites who were unable to love our people, who could not see Caribbean people as fully human and who did not believe in flourishing life for all. This means a decolonial vision of hope and justice. To walk justly is to act out of a profound belief in a future that would end the inhumane project of strip-mining people of their humanity. The Caribbean hope of what ‘rising to life’ must mean in practice has to be a commitment to the mobilisation of desire for justice. Hence, our work must continue to be powered by ‘pleasure activism’, the belief that justice and liberation must become the most pleasurable experiences we can have, and that we can already see some of its fruits in this life with some assurance that next generations will not inhabit an already colonised future.
What sort of ancestors we are going to be for our future generations?
Rev. Dr. Michael Jagessar is the Mission Secretary for CWM Caribbean and Europe Regions. Fileimage
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Stay CONNECTED through PRAYERS
PRAYING for our PIMs Page 8
PRAY FOR PARTNERS
& e b m Le ia h Cynt
Image Contributed
Rev. Lembe Sivile and his spouse Mrs. Cynthia Mwita are Partners in Mission from the United Church of Zambia (UCZ). They have been in Jamaica for five (5) years serving with the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI). Lembe serves as Senior Minister at UCJCI's Meadowbrook United and Cynthia works alongside him as Lay Pastor. One focus of Lembe's work has been the development of the church's mission strategic plan while Cynthia has been engaging with the members of the church and the Meadowbrook community, providing care and support where needed. They both celebrate the joys and challenges of ministry and count it an honor to be Partners in Mission. Lembe and Cynthia are parents to three (3) beautiful children - Zewelanji, Ndanji and Salifyanji .
PRAY FOR : God's continued sustenance on their families back home in Zambia. Their mission field so that God's kingdom will be evident in their ministries. Page 9
A Prayerful Meditation This is an invitation to sit in silence and center yourself before you begin this meditation. During this time of prayer, use it to lean in to God as your source of Love, Comfort and Transformation.
Loving One,
You who hear our laments, prayers and frustrations. You who embrace us when we wrestle with rejection, misunderstanding and persecution. You who love so generously, radically and boundlessly. Hear us. Embrace us. Love us.
(Pause and sit in silence for a while)
Comforting One,
You who strengthen us when we are discouraged, disorientated and dismayed. You who sustain us when we are physically, emotionally and mentally fatigued. You who comforts us when we retreat, hide and isolate in fear. Strengthen us. Sustain us. Comfort us. (Pause and focus on breathing gently and deeply) Page 10
Transforming One,
You who lead us out from our comfort zone, and beckon us to come follow you. You who teach us a different way – a way of justice, neighborliness and loving compassion. You who show us welcome, even when You were rejected, despised and ridiculed. Lead us. Teach us. Show us. (Pause and gently recite Psalm 23:1-4, NRSV)
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. He leads me in right paths For his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, For you are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Pause and sit in silence for a while) Amen.
This prayerful meditation was prepared by Ms. Lynnette X. Li, Programme Associate for Mission Development - CWM. Page 11
A PRAYER for those who SERVE... Dear God of compassion and justice: With you is the fountain of life; by your light we see light. In this desperate world, let the Partners-in-Mission of CWM be a beacon of hope in the countries and societies they are placed. Enable them as they carry your universal love to local communities, theological colleges, and churches. Capacitate them as they use their qualifications, gifts and experiences to contribute in their respective fields. Where there is brokenness, let them bring healing. Where there is conflict, let them bring peace. May they know your wisdom as they minister in times of international war, economic crisis and global pandemics. Let those in cross-cultural ministry have sensitivity in their host contexts. Please watch over their families, some of whom serve with them and others back at home. We give you thanks for their service which they have gone about at personal cost. May you always be their source of strength by which they strengthen others. We lift up their health and well-being unto you and pray that they will always experience your protection, joy and unfailing peace as they usher in hope and healing in their respective contexts. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
A prayer from Mr. Stephen Chia, CWM's Programme Associate for South Asia Page 12
Welcoming Our Newest Partners Page 13
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t n e c o n n I gwa n a K Mr. Innocent B. Kangwa is a new Partner in Mission through CWM. Innocent started service in April 2022 with the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA). He is serving as the UCCSA's Chief Finance Officer. He is from the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) where he had also worked as Financial Secretary for the past nine (9) years. As a new Partner in Mission, Innocent is most excited about the opportunity to learn and also contribute in a different cultural and church setting. Innocent is married to Ruth Sinkala Kangwa and together they are blessed with two (2) beautiful children, Esther and Ivwananji. As a family, they are very thankful to God for this opportunity to serve.
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Welcome! (From left to right) Principal of the Pacific Theological College (PTC) Rev. Prof. Dr. Upolu Luma Vaai with Rev. Melanie Smith and Rev. Mark Meatcher, partners in mission.
Image credit: Theresa Fox
MarkMeatcherand MelanieSmith Rev. Mark Meatcher and Rev. Melanie Smith, husband and wife, started PIM service in April 2022 with the Pacific Theological College (PTC) in Suva, Fiji. Mark and Melanie are ministers from the United Reformed Church (URC) in the Europe region. Mark is the new Marketing and Fundraising Officer at the PTC and Melanie is the Director for its Center of Women's Development Programme. Page 15
Prior to becoming a minister, Melanie had a background as a Chartered Accountant and had worked in the public sector with a NHS hospital trust, a government educational funding body and a housing association before working for a grant-giving charity and then Christian Aid. In ministry Melanie has served two pastorates in her nine (9) years as a minister in Southend-on-Sea and in Enfield, North London where she has been active in the local community engaging with community groups and projects such as homelessness, debt relief and refugee support. Mark was a Chartered Surveyor working in property management and development mainly in waterfront locations and with historic buildings before he changed direction and was ordained as an URC minister in 2009. He subsequently served as a minister to three (3) churches in Dorset, then as a hospice chaplain to an adult and children’s hospice before acting as Transitional Minister to nine (9) churches in Essex trying to help them focus on their mission and future vision. Mark then moved with Melanie to serve as minister of a group of three (3) different churches in North Enfield in London. Mark has been involved in the wider church encouraging church growth and discipleship. Both Melanie and Mark are eager to see the church involved in its local community and have a passion to see churches work in the area of social justice and environmental action – moving to the Pacific region will provide them with ample opportunity to engage in these areas! Being based in Fiji will also hopefully give them the opportunity to meet up with their newest grandchild who was born during the pandemic and resides with his mum and dad in Australia (not too far away now!).
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s a m o h T iri Ph
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Rev. Thomas Phiri is very excited to have joined the CWM’s team of Partners in Mission. He started as a PIM with the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI) in April 2022. In his words, "being a vessel of God beyond borders feels great as it resonates well with the Lord Jesus’ charge to His disciples in the Gospel of Mathew 28:1820. I am therefore, grateful to God and the CWM for making this a reality! Serving God and humanity in a place far away from home bring a totally new experience of doing ministry as a number of things that come my way are almost a complete new set of events/ activities; the people, the food, the culture and many more".
Thomas believes that his family will need to adjust to the new experiences in Jamaica if they will have a fruitful ministry. They are seeking God in prayer for a smooth transition into the new context. Thomas has been placed with the New Broughton Charge of the UCJCI in the Southern Regional Mission Council. He described New Broughton as a community of very good and welcoming people of God. Acknowledging that they may be challenged with a few things as they adapt to the new context, Thomas shared that he and his family were full of hope and faith in God as they look forward to a fruitful ministry in Jamaica! They ask for prayers as they journey in the Lord's vineyard. Page 17
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k c i r t a P da n a B
Rev. Patrick Banda is another new Partner in Mission to the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI). He also started service in April 2022 as Minister. Patrick has been placed at the Denbigh United Church in May Pen, Clarendon.
FROM THE
Partners in Mission Unit of CWM Page 18
Stay CONNECTED with the PIM UNIT Page 19
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Luke 18:1 (ESV) And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
Let's Stay Connected! Thank you for viewing this issue of CONNECTED! We hope you were both informed and inspired. Share your comments and inputs at vickeisha.burke@cwmission.org. Editor: Vickeisha King Burke Unless otherwise stated, images and graphics are courtesy of CANVA